A retrospective cohort analysis found that patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation who were newly treated with dabigatran (Pradaxa) had significantly lower all-cause hospitalizations, emergency room visits and physician office visits compared with a group that received warfarin.

Lead researcher Matthew Sussman, MA, of Boston Health Economics, and colleagues published their results online in The American Journal of Pharmacy Benefits Oct. 18. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures dabigatran, funded the study.

The FDA approved dabigatran in October 2010, making it the first oral anticoagulant to be approved in more than 50 years. The medication, a direct thrombin inhibitor, is approved to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. It is also approved to treat deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

In this real-world study, the researchers evaluated information from the Humedica electronic health record database and identified 3,890 patients who were newly diagnosed with non-valvular atrial fibrillation between October 1, 2010 and Sept. 30, 2012. Patients who received warfarin were propensity score matched in a 1:1 ratio to patients who received dabigatran.

After one year of treatment, 42.8 percent of patients in the dabigatran group and 47.5 percent of patients in the warfarin group were hospitalized. During that same time period, 3.5 percent and 4.9 percent of patients, respectively, had a stroke-related hospitalization.

The dabigatran group also had lower rates of first all-cause hospitalizations and emergency department visits per 100 patient-years and lower incidence rates for first stroke-related and bleeding-relating events.

The researchers cited a few limitations of the study, including that they could not assess continuous eligibility and enrollment data due to relying on electronic health record data. They also did not have consistent national drug code information and had a lack of detailed prescription data. In addition, they did not have any cost data, so they could not assess medical costs associated with resource utilization.

“Our findings indicate that patients given a new diagnosis of [non-valvular atrial fibrillation], who were receiving care in [United States integrated delivery networks] and newly treated with dabigatran, experienced fewer all-cause annual medical services,” the researchers wrote. “These findings may assist clinicians when determining options for oral anticoagulation among treatment- naïve patients with [non-valvular atrial fibrillation].”